1997 film wag the Dog, Starring Robert DeNiro and Dustin Hoffman, it imagines a world where the President of the United States fakes a war to distract from his sex scandal. This is, of course, hypothetical, as no American president could ever have imagined denigrating the office in such a blatantly misleading manner. But if you’re looking for a little escapism, wag the Dog A fun little film from the 1990s. And it’s streaming for free on YouTube right now.
The free YouTube version, available to watch here, contains ads you can’t skip. But if you’re willing to spend a few bucks, there are other ways to watch the movie ad-free, like on Amazon ($3.99 to rent, $10.49 to own), Google Play ($3.99 to rent, $9.99 to own), or Apple ($3.99 to rent, $9.99 to own).
As an idea this movie is pretty wild. Robert DeNiro plays a political spin doctor and Dustin Hoffman plays a Hollywood producer. DeNiro’s character has to bury a sex scandal that is about to be exposed in the press. He recruits Hoffman’s character to help him, and together they conspire to trick the entire country into believing that there is a war going on in Albania.
The film was released in 1998, before President Bill Clinton’s own sex scandal broke, and the film drew comparisons to Clinton’s decision to bomb two different countries just days after admitting to a sexual affair with Monica Lewinsky. Clinton ordered the bombings of Afghanistan and Sudan, leading many to compare the story to a movie.
“Watch the movie wag the DogI think it has all the elements of that movie,” Jim Gibbons, a Republican representative from Nevada, told CNN at the time in 1998, “Our response to the embassy bombings must be based on solid credible evidence, not a hasty response to divert public attention from his personal problems,”
Clinton’s Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, was asked specifically about the comparison to the film at the time and denied it, according to CNN, saying, “The only motivation driving this action today was our absolute obligation to protect the American people from terrorist activities. That’s the only motivation.”
And it was definitely a relief. It would have been terrible for a president to try to divert attention from a terrible sex scandal by engaging in unnecessary military action.
If you can believe it, President Donald Trump actually received similar comparisons during his first term. Trump launched airstrikes in Syria in April 2017 as people were discussing Russia’s attempted interference in the 2016 presidential election. Politico even put it in the headline, asking pointedly, “Is Trump wagging the dog in Syria?”
Directed by Barry Levinson, wag the Dog It was based on the 1993 book by Larry Beinhart. American Hero and adapted by Hilary Henkin and David Mamet. Obviously anyone who is associated with Mamet, who is best known for his plays glengarry glen rossKnows he’s a big Trump man now. And Mamet certainly knows Trump would never start a war to distract attention from something as silly as a sex scandal. Unless, of course, the scandal was so big that it threatened to derail his entire presidency. but even then…